


The Twilight Zone

by LonelyIntrovert



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV), binonna, wayhaught - Fandom
Genre: Binnona is real, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Gen, Giving Wynonna her secret wife, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-05 23:20:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15873780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LonelyIntrovert/pseuds/LonelyIntrovert
Summary: A secret that Wynonna was against sharing follows her to Purgatory from Greece, which makes the gang question everything about life, donuts, and love.





	1. Chapter 1

Nicole peered at the clock, wishing impatiently that the hour hand would inch just a little bit more towards four. She had been doing desk duty all day and it had been a terribly slow day. She placed her chin on her palm and tapped her pen on her notepad, idly wondering what she could make for dinner that night. 

She frowned as she heard unfamiliar feet step towards her, looking up to see a bewildering sight.

A young figure stepped towards her, dressed in a grey vest and matching suit pants, pink dress shirt and tie peeping out from out of it. Neat and shined dress shoes clicked on the tile of the PSD floor, and for a moment Nicole just gaped at what had walked into her precinct.

“Uh—hi,” Nicole stammered, drawing herself up, “How…ah, how can I help you?”

“I’m here to get this signed.” The voice was chirpy but somehow demure and low, shockingly so for the person’s physique.

“Okay, um—what are your pronouns?” Nicole asked as the person slid a few sheets of crisp pages across the table at her.

A wide smile touched their lips.

“Ah, well that’s polite of you! Female pronouns and they/them would be fine,” she responded as Nicole nodded, glancing down at the forms. She would have guessed that based off the woman’s busty chest and curly long tresses, but she wanted to be sure.

“And you are here for…” Nicole trailed off, a look of disbelief on her face, “…a—a medical marijuana permit.”

“Yes, I was told you need to sign it,” the woman said calmly, leaning on the counter.

“But…no doctor in Purgatory…” Nicole began, breaking off when she read the signature of a doctor she knew. Normally the doctors in Purgatory only prescribed marijuana to elderly patients who wouldn’t turn around and sell it. It was odd then, when this young woman came in wielding the permit.

“License and registration please,” Nicole said gruffly.

The woman raised her eyebrows at her tone before willingly surrendering them over. Nicole snatched them away and walked over to her desk, clicking her computer on.

“This is ridiculous,” she muttered as she read the license and typed the name in her system for registration. Jessica Hardsted came up completely clean, with a recent change of address to Purgatory.

Nicole pondered this as she entered in the rest of file and saved it before scrawling her signature on the permit and walking over to the other woman.

“Jessica—”

“Jessie, please.”

“Jessie, if you can just sign here, you are good to go.”

“Thank you,” Jessie practically purred, taking it in her hand and tucking it against her chest, though she made no move to leave. Nicole raised her eyebrows at the other. 

“You wouldn’t happen to know if a Wynonna Earp is still in town, would you?”

Jessie said this in a lilting tone, coaxing. It was then that it dawned on Nicole—this person may be of a smaller stature, but there was a dangerous person standing before her, one that was used to getting what she wanted. 

“I couldn’t be sure…” Nicole said cautiously, not wanting to downright lie or refuse.

“I see…well, thank you!” Jessie said with a wink before turning promptly around and walking out, Lonnie opening the door as her neatly trimmed dress shoes clicked on the floor. After she walked out, Lonnie floated forward, a strange look on his face.

“Whose Bugatti is sitting outside?” Lonnie asked as Wynonna came barreling down from the BBD office.

“Nicole—can I see you?” Wynonna hissed, marching past the swinging door and grabbing Nicole’s arm, hard. The eldest Earp sister dragged Nicole into Nedley’s empty office.

“Wynonna, that woman—” Nicole began.

“Shhh-Shut up!” Wynonna hissed, panic on her face, “I saw her pull in—damn it!”

“Wynonna…what’s going on?” Nicole asked slowly. 

“I…I might have a little…um, sugar daddy issue.”

“Uh…huh,” Nicole said slowly, straightened a little, “I don’t see what this has to do with me.”

“By sugar daddy I…may or may not actually mean sugar momma.”

Nicole gaped at the other.

“I’m not following.”

Wynonna’s eyes fluttered as if in physical pain before she gritted her teeth and seemed to swallow her pride.

“That was Jessie Hardsted, wasn’t it?”

“Yes…” Nicole said, eyes wide and wary.

“She was…is…my wife.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wynonna's past gets revealed slowly and Nicole gets dragged into something she wants no part in.

“Okay, let me get this straight,” Nicole said slowly, leaning on Nedley’s desk as Wynonna paced before her, “You GOT MARRIED IN GREECE?”

“Yep,” Wynonna responded curtly.

“Wynonna what were you—”

“Do NOT ask me ‘what was I thinking’ miss DIVORCEE!” Wynonna snapped. Nicole clammed her mouth shut and stewed for a moment.

“You got married to a WOMAN?” she whispered hoarsely instead.

Wynonna froze in her pacing, a panicked look coming over her.

“I was so drunk, and it was dark, I thought she was a very eccentric dude the first time—”

“THE FIRST TIME—”

“And that night she REALLY confused me because she was wearing a—”

“OKAY, STOP—” Nicole interrupted shrilly, “just…please…stop.”

There was a pause as Nicole rubbed her temples slowly, trying to process all of this.

“What happened?” she finally managed, not knowing what else to ask. Wynonna stood and crossed her arms, looking vaguely subconscious as she peered at her feet.

“I just kind of stuck around with her…she had a yacht and she took me wherever I wanted to go. The marriage was more out of convenience—I customs were much easier to get through that way.”

“Did you…did you love her?” Nicole asked slowly. Wynonna snorted a short bark of a laugh, though it was humorless. 

“We sailed the Mediterranean for six months and stopped at all the major ports. We never stayed in a hotel below five stars and she gave me stacks of money whenever I wanted to go shopping. You ask if I loved her—sure. But I was more in love with the lifestyle if anything.”

Nicole frowned at this, brow furrowed in thought.

“So…you both still—um” 

Wynonna rolled her eyes.

“Yes, Nicole, we had sex—multiple times for your information.” Nicole blinked, her expression blown. Then she frowned.

“Wait…what the hell did she do for a living?”

Wynonna squirmed.

“So…here’s the thing—”

Nicole raised her eyes.

“Wynonna…” she began reproachfully.

“I never really KNEW but…maybe something to do with drug dealing—”

“WHAT?!”

Nicole leapt from the desk, shock on her face.

“Wynonna, you married a DRUG TRAFFICKER?!”

“Can you KEEP YOUR VOICE down?!” Wynonna hissed through her clenched teeth, “Waverly is upstairs and—”

“OH MY GOD—” Nicole gasped, “WAVERLY DOESN’T KNOW!”

“No, you knit-wit and I don’t want her to know—”

“But your druggy-wife is HERE!” Nicole snapped, “Why is she HERE?!”

“I don’t know!” Wynonna panicked, “I need you to like—do your lesbian thing and tell her I’m not interested anymore!”

“NOPE! I am NOT getting mixed up in THIS—”

“Nicole, PLEASE!”

Nicole froze, Wynonna giving her the most earnest and desperate look she had ever seen from the brunette.

“I…okay FINE.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole gets caught doing something she did not sign up for

Nicole was nervously shuffling her papers as she set them down the next day, not knowing exactly how best to go about helping Wynonna. She had no idea why the assumed gazillionaire had moved to Godforsaken Purgatory, and she sure as shit didn’t know where to go from there in terms of keeping this all a secret from Waverly.

At the thought, Nicole cringed.

She honestly couldn’t lie to Waverly.

Nicole pouted as she stared down at what little notes she could scrounge up on Jessica Hardsted. 

Waverly needed to know about this.

BANG.

Nicole jerked her gaze up as Wynonna stomped through the doors, the door banging on against the walls. Snapping up, they both looked around before slipping back into Nedley’s office and shutting the door cautiously.

“Did you think of anything?” Nicole hissed, placing the desperately thin file on the desk.

“I don’t know—nothing I could say would fly in court,” Wynonna whispered back, “Only suspicious activity. She never openly talked to me about her business dealings. She just kinda shooed me away, ya know?”

Nicole rolled her eyes as she opened the file on the desk, exposing a single piece of paper.

“I got nothing on her legally—not even a parking violation.”

Wynonna blinked.

“You—you got nothing on her?”

“Um…no.”

“Isn’t that…isn’t that a little ODD, Nicole?” Wynonna said in a suggestive tone.

“Uh…I don’t know,” Nicole said honestly, “Some people do live their lives without a run-in with the law—”

“Okay—low shot there, Haught-stuff,” Wynonna interrupted. There was a pause as they collectively thought.

“Why don’t you try and see if there is anything suspicious at her house!” Wynonna exclaimed, “Maybe you can pin her with something!”

“Wynonna—” Nicole sighed, “I don’t even know where to begin with that…why is it so important that you send her away? You haven’t even TRIED to contact her. Why can’t you just get a divorce like normal people and—”

“Nicole, please…Waverly cannot know about this,” Wynonna murmured, desperation on her face, “It would devastate her.”

“Why, cause your bi? Because that’s a BIT of a stretch if I may say so myself—” 

“Because it’s just another big secret I’ve kept from her,” Wynonna cut short.

Silence. Nicole stewed for a moment before huffing loudly.

“Okay—I go to her house and poke around for a bit. If I find nothing, you tell Waverly about your secret wife. If I find something, we report it and get her extradited. Deal?”

Wynonna considered this before silently nodding.

*****

Nicole parked the cruiser on the side of the road, deliberating for the thousandth time if she should go through with this deal. She was parked at the mouth of a drive way that snaked into a heavily wooded area, towards a mansion she originally thought to be a myth until only a few hours prior. 

She had nothing—absolutely no reason to be there.

If Wynonna’s not-so-secret wife wasn’t an international drug trafficker, then this wouldn’t be that big of an issue. Nicole would wave a form in her face and say it was for the medical marijuana permit. On the off chance that she WAS a big time criminal, then she would be caught and honestly Nicole had no idea what she would do then. 

With a huff, Nicole looked back down the snowy lane, tapping on the steering wheel before groaning to herself and throwing the cruiser in drive as she turned down the lane. The lane wound through trees that towered above her, and for a second Nicole was lost in the sheer beauty and eeriness of it. Taking another turn, there was a break in the trees and Nicole’s eyes widened.

The stories of a mansion were false—what sat in front of her was no mansion. It had to be the fanciest cabin she had ever seen in her life. Constructed out of mostly wood and glass, the whole front was just large windows, the interior hard to make out with the reflection of the snow. There was a front porch held aloft with cobblestone pillars and the doors were an ornate glass that curved with the doorframe.

Nicole parked her cruiser and cautiously stepped out, noting there were no other cars in sight but there was a garage and tire tracks in the snow led to it. The ‘for sale’ sign in the front had been covered with a ‘sold’ sticker.

The deputy trotted up the porch, clipboard tucked under her arm as she rang the doorbell, stomping her feet to rid her boots of snow.

The door opened as she did this, causing her to jump.

Jessica stood in front of her, hair disheveled and wearing a simple t-shirt and men’s pajama pants that were bound loosely around her waist.  
Somewhere, deep inside Nicole, jealously flared at how effortlessly Jessica managed the look even when she just woke up.

“…Officer Haught,” Jessica began formally, Nicole’s tongue caught in her throat, “A pleasant surprise…won’t you come in, you must be cold.”

Nicole’s eyebrows raised, knowing full well that is was unlike a criminal to invite an officer of the law into their residence if they had something to hide. Then again, this could all be a rouse…a creative and extravagant one, but a rouse nonetheless.

“Oh…um, sure, thank you,” Nicole stammered, Jessica holding the door open as the redhead stepped inside. As Jessica shut the door, Nicole peered around the dark interior of the room and her jaw fell to the floor.

The room was open, windows scaling the walls, showing a large living room with a fireplace and large TV above it. To her right opened a kitchen, and to her side was a spiral staircase that went up to a loft-like bedroom. 

All in all, it was the definition of a banging-pad.

“Nice…ah, nice place,” Nicole stammered as Jessica strode forward, walking lazily into the kitchen.

“Thanks—coffee?”

“Sure,” Nicole said, still gaping at the cabin. Jessica padded into the immaculate kitchen and began to pour coffee out of a French press—it was soon clear to Nicole that the other woman had been preparing the coffee anyway.

“Sorry about not being ready, the jetlag is something else,” Jessica explained, pouring a second cup. Nicole blinked as Jessica set a mug on the counter.

“Thank you,” Nicole said slowly, taking it, “I’m here about—”

“Because Wynonna sent you,” Jessica interrupted smoothly, looking utterly unperturbed. Nicole tensed up, ready for action, but Jessica simply sipped her coffee and stepped back into the living room, gesturing for Nicole to follow her. The redhead followed cautiously, holding the mug and allowing the warmth of the coffee to seep into her hands. Jessica claimed a chair and Nicole had no choice but to sit on the neat leather couch next to her, fidgeting in the early morning light that streamed in the building. Nicole said nothing, glancing nervously over at the other, not wanting to incriminate herself further.

Jessica took her time, sipping her coffee deeply—and Nicole was once again reminded of the feeling that the person next to her was dangerous. The way she controlled the atmosphere…it boggled Nicole.

“Why do you think that?” Nicole asked slowly.

“I would hope I know my wife, officer,” Jessica murmured over her mug, “after speaking with you, I asked around town and it became evident the situation you were in.”

“…oh…” Nicole simply said, not knowing if this was just a statement or accusation.

“So, Wynonna sent you. Why?” 

“Uh…”

“Please, officer, there is no point in lying now,” Jessica sighed, “If you don’t tell me now I’ll just show up at your precinct tomorrow, looking for her.”

Nicole stewed silently, deciding to sip her coffee and hating how it tasted perfect.

“I can’t betray her,” Nicole bit out. Jessica nodded absently at this, not looking bothered at all.

“Well, then, I guess I’ll see you at the precinct tomorrow.”

Nicole blinked, looking up at the other in surprise. Jessica’s gaze was piercing—damning even.

Nicole cautiously placed her mug on the coffee table, mumbled her thanks, and scrambled out of the cabin.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica walks in at a terrible time and everything comes out in the wash

Nicole rubbed her temples, contemplating for the thousandth time what she should do. The clock ticked towards ten in the morning, and she was fairly certain Wynonna was still asleep. The redhead had not informed Wynonna about what happened the day prior, unsure of what exactly to say.

In the long run, they had a deal.

And the way it was looking, Wynonna had a story to tell…which she wasn’t going to take too well.

So why wouldn’t Nicole just allow Jessie to show up as planned, cutting her out of the picture altogether?

Nicole jerked slightly at a rather loud scuffling that emitted right above her, in the old BBD office.

“What the—” she breathed, only to jump out of her chair at the sight of Jessie marching past the PSD office and marching up the stairs, the dark-haired woman dressed in a simple white dress shirt and tie, shiny shoes clicking determinedly.

“Oh…no,” Nicole breathed, staggering up in shock initially before breaking into an all out sprint out of the office and taking the stairs two at a time. She heard a few exclamations and hurried her pace, running down the short hallway before running into an odd sight.

Wynonna, contrary to belief, was wide awake—hunched over Peacemaker as she attempted to reload the gun, Waverly wielding a baton at the VERY angry revenant that stood before them. And separating the revenant from the door was Jessie, who stood bracingly in her spot, immediately tasting the atmosphere.

Wynonna spotted Jessie, and behind her Nicole, and not a trace of shock was on her face—just strained acceptance.

“Nicole, get her out of here.”

Waverly looked past the revenant and confusion spread across her face, her eyes widening in shock as they landed on Jessie.

The pointed look caused the Revenant to spin around and Nicole blanched as it saw its clear escape. Nicole’s hand flew to her firearm, but the revenant was quicker—moving to plow THROUGH them…

Jessie moved too fast for Nicole to completely catch what she did, but there was a defining CRACK when the revenant’s skull hit the tile floor, Jessie’s foot planted on his chest as he writhed in pain. 

“Back up!” Wynonna shouted, having reloaded Peacemaker and now pointing it at the revenant. Jessie jumped back silently before there was a CRACK, and they all watched as hellfire enveloped the screaming revenant before silence fell over them.

Well, relatively.

They all looked over at Jessie in a stunned silence as the shorter woman slowly crumpled to the floor, gently lowering herself into fetal position as she held her arms to her stomach, eyes fluttering shut. A few weak coughs came from her as Wynonna moved first—cautiously—Waverly following close behind.

“…Jessie?” Wynonna asked slowly.

“I’m fine, just…let me lay here for a minute,” Jessie whispered in a strained voice, her face going white as a sweat broke out on her brow. She pressed her face against the floor, sighing as she felt the cool tile.

“Shall I call an ambulance?” Nicole asked carefully as Wynonna knelt over the other, Waverly peering down—looking utterly at a loss for words.

“No—no, just give me a minute,” Jessie wheezed.

“What’s wrong Jess?” Wynonna asked, her voice strangely stern.

“Oh nothing—” Jessie sighed with a strained chuckle, “…just a little leukemia.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessie and Wynonna finally get some time to discuss what's going on

“Leukemia, Jess, really?! When were you going to land that one on me?!” Wynonna demanded, though she was panting heavily as she and Nicole supported Jess between them, guiding her down the stairs as Waverly followed.

“Not then, obviously,” Jessie retorted, only to dissolve into a fit of feeble coughing.

“Great, now you are making me look bad for being mad at you,” Wynonna snapped, though her tone had considerably softened as they all steered into the PSD office. 

“She can lay on the couch in Nedley’s office,” Nicole said as Waverly skirted around them to swing the counter door open for them. 

“Guys I’m fine—”

“No, you are not, you just collapsed, you self-sacrificing prick,” Wynonna interrupted with an eyeroll, “What were you thinking?!”

“Maybe that you all were going to get hurt because your damn gun wasn’t loaded—what were YOU thinking, Wyn?!” Jessie snapped back weakly as they all shuffled into Nedley’s office.

“You two are bickering like a married couple,” Waverly said with a nervous chuckle, trying to ease the tension in the room as Jessie was deposited on the couch, “How do you two know each other?”

The question was directed at Wynonna, but Waverly was met with a heavy silence, everyone averting her gaze. Jessie tugged her tie loose, a cold sweat broken out on her brow as Nicole looked away guiltily, and Wynonna simply looked away pointedly.

“Um…guys?” Waverly asked in a shaky voice, “What’s…ah, what’s going on?”

To everyone’s dismay, Jessie seemed to shoulder the weight of the situation and offered her hand out. It was pitiful—hand shaking slightly as Jessie gazed up at her with glassy eyes, a grim smile plastered to her pale face.

“You must be Waverly,” Jessie rasped, “Good to finally meet you.” Waverly took it numbly, Nicole starting forward.

“Waverly, I—”

“Nicole, it’s fine,” Jessie said calmly, though her voice trembled from obvious exhaustion, shaking Waverly’s hand briefly, the brunette’s inquiring gaze never leaving Jessie’s.

“Who are you?” Waverly said quietly.

It was Wynonna who answered, from the corner.

“That’s my wife.”

*****

“YOUR WIFE?!” Waverly shouted for the fifth time, Wynonna sitting quietly in the corner, Jessie sinking into the couch looking faint, Nicole standing bracingly next to Nedley’s desk.

“Wynonna, YOU HAD A WIFE THIS WHOLE TIME?!”

“Baby girl, you were married to a skull,” Wynonna snorted, making Nicole stir with a frown.

“You were married to a skull?” Nicole asked.

Jessie blinked blearily from the couch, seeming too weak to follow the conversation fully.

“Hey, love is love man,” Jessie mumbled to no one in particular.

Waverly rounded on Nicole.

“How long did you know?!” Waverly demanded, evident hurt on her face.

“I—I—” Nicole stammered.

“Um, guys—” Wynonna said sternly, now from the couch where she was staring at Jessie, who had gone white, her breath coming out shallowly as she held her abdomen in pain.

“Great! Now my LOVELY sister-in-law is going to die in Nedley’s office!” Waverly panicked.

“No—no it’s fine,” Jessie rasped, “I just need—I need to lay down for a few hours is all.”

“Are you SURE you don’t want to go to the hospital—” Nicole said again, for the sixth time.

“I’m not going to any hospital—I am on the DNR list,” Jessie bit out with a soft groan.

There was a pause, the other three sharing strained and mildly scared looks.

“We still need to get her out of here,” Wynonna said urgently, a strange look on her face.

Waverly and Nicole collectively looked at Wynonna in mild surprise at the other’s tone of voice.

“Um…yeah, she can crash at my place—it’s the closest,” Nicole said, “Spare key is—”

“Under your welcome mat, yeah,” Wynonna said briskly, already pulling Jessie to her feet.

Wynonna made a fast business of ushering the dark-haired woman out of the office, leaving Nicole and Waverly to stare after them.

*****

Wynonna froze at the sight of a dark black Bugatti Chiron sitting in front of the PSD office, her mouth agape as she saw its cruelly elegant shine, the papers from the dealership still plastered to the inside of the window.

“Is…is that…” Wynonna stammered, not as a legitimate question, but as a statement of disbelief.

“Keys…here…” Jessie rasped, hand fumbling as she tried to dig them out of her pocket. Jessie held out a simple leather object with “Bugatti” scrawled across it. Wynonna took it and paused momentarily, suddenly unsure.

“Am I going to—”

“Wynonna, I can hardly sit up—”

“Right, right,” Wynonna said hurriedly, staggering as she helped Jessie to the passenger side. Wynonna fumbled with the key before pulling it out and unlocking the door, lowering Jessie down into the low-riding car. Wynonna shut her in, did a little dance as she crossed over to the other door before opening it and ducking inside. 

“H-ohhhh my GOD,” Wynonna purred, running her hands over the pale leather seats, the neat steering wheel, eyes taking in every intoxicating detail. Even with it off, the car FELT powerful.

“Wynonna…” Jessie rasped reproachfully, her head in her hands.

“Sorry—”

Wynonna fumbled with the key before inserting it into the console and turning the engine over, the car springing to life like a low purring tiger. 

“Oh, she’s AMAZING,” Wynonna gasped in awe.

“Yeah, she’s touchy—don’t go over the speed limit,” Jessie mumbled, leaning back in the passenger seat, holding her abdomen, eyes firmly shut.

Wynonna released a wicked cackle before throwing the car in neutral and revving the engine—causing a few people to peer out of windows and buildings alike.

“WYNONNA!”

“SORRY!”

Wynonna reversed, suddenly tense and cautious like a first-time driver before putting it into drive and crawling forward, towards Nicole’s house.

*****

The drive was silent, the only noise the Bugatti’s soothing purr as Wynonna pulled it to the side of the road. Turning the engine off, Wynonna looked over at her estranged wife grimly, noticing some color had returned to her cheeks.

“You good?”

Jessie nodded, eyes cracking open.

“Yeah, I can walk now—”

Wynonna got out of the car while Jessie did likewise, hobbling up to the house, hand over her abdomen.

Wynonna went to follow her, but Jessie called out to her without turning around.

“There is a duffle bag in the back seat, can you grab it?”

Wynonna frowned but did as she was asked, retrieving a rather small red and black duffle bag before trotting after Jessie who was leaning on the doorframe.

“Here—” 

Wynonna lifted the welcome mat, uncovering a lone key before unlocking the door and opening it. Jessie walked through with a grimace, immediately spotting Nicole’s couch before hobbling over to it and gingerly laying down. Wynonna shut the door, CJ bounding up to her and meowing loudly.

“Your mom isn’t here girl,” Wynonna said, stepping over the absolute unit of a feline. She wasn’t really a cat person.

“Is that a cat?” Jessie rasped from the couch.

“Yeah—” Wynonna broke off as CJ noticed Jessie and stalked slowly over to the other, tail waving casually in the air. Wynonna raised her eyebrows as CJ leapt on the couch and curled up with Jessie, the darker-haired woman smiling sheepishly as she ran her hands through Calamity Jane’s fur.

“Someone has favorite’s,” Wynonna mumbled in a wounded tone.

There was silence as Wynonna floated into the living room, unsure of what to do.

“Would you like a blanket or…”

“I’ll be fine, I just need to rest up a little and take my medicine.”

“Your…huh?”

Jessie pointed at the duffle bag. Wynonna frowned and unzipped the duffle bag, her jaw slowly dropping.

Wynonna reached in and ripped out a freezer bag of prewrapped blunts.

“THIS IS YOUR MEDICINE?!”

Jessie chuckled, nodding gently.

“You lucky little…” Wynonna said slowly, immediately adding, “I mean about the pot, not the—” 

Wynonna gestured vaguely at the other, adding, “Bone cancer.”

“Yeah, that rather does put a damper on things,” Jessie said, though she looked unperturbed, “By the way, would Nicole mind if…”

A wide, evil smile spread across Wynonna’s face.

“If you blazed up in here? Not at all.”

*****

“So, why did you come back here?” Wynonna said, leaning her back against the side of the bathtub as Jessie laid sprawled out on the floor next to her. Jessie had sprung up to vomit fifteen minutes prior, and instead of going back, the pair settled in Nicole’s bathroom, now passing a joint between them.

Jessie shrugged as she took a deep drag and inhaled with a soft choke before handing it off to Wynonna.

“I needed to lay low anyway. There are things…about me…that you never knew and probably will never know,” Jessie said slowly, sighing contentedly as a strange redness surrounded her eyes.

Wynonna simply nodded, taking a much more eager drag than was probably optimal, sucking in her breath and holding it as she tried to not dissolve into a coughing fit. Letting the breath go, she wiped the strained tears from her eyes.

“Far out, far out,” she gasped in a high-pitched squeak.

There was a pause.

“So…what are your plans?” Wynonna started quietly, taking another, lighter puff before handing it off.

“I’ve had this for five years,” Jessie sighed, tapping some ash over the ledge of the tub before taking a puff, “It was very advanced by the time it was caught, and I didn’t want to spend my last few years in crippling pain.”

“Aren’t you in crippling pain now?” Wynonna asked with a frown.

“Relatively—at least my hair isn’t falling out and I’m not puking every fifteen minutes—only when I overexert myself. My immune system is in shambles, so the doctors I met with in France couldn’t give me a clear picture of the long-term plans.”

Wynonna stirred.

“So…there is a date?”

“An estimation—anywhere from six months to two years,” Jessie said quietly, taking another puff.

There was silence as this sunk in.

“Jess?”

“Yes?”

“Are you…are you mad I left?” Wynonna asked slowly.

“No.”

It was said calmly, not a trace of judgement. Jessie took another deep drag and handed the blunt back to Wynonna.

“This curse then…its all real?” Jessie inquired.

“Yep, big ‘ol Peacemaker, putting down revenants for a hundred years and all,” Wynonna said with a shaky laugh, patting her firearm.

“Huh.”

Silence fell, Wynonna pinching the end of the roach and reaching for another blunt. She ground it out in a small pool of water at the bottom of the tub around the drain before lighting the other, Jessie’s eyes closed peacefully.

“I…uh…I had a baby,” Wynonna sighed as she ran the blunt over the flame.

Jessie’s eyes fluttered open.

“Like, a real…”

“Yep.”

“Out of your—”

“Yep.”

Jessie looked back up at the ceiling, a frown on her face.

“…fuck.”

“Mhmm,” Wynonna said with an empathetic laugh, “Had her on a pool table.”

“That’s so you,” Jessie chuckled, “What’s her name?”

“Alice Michelle,” Wynonna murmured, deeming the blunt to be properly lit before raising it to her lips once more. They shared silence, the shock of being in each other’s presence filling them.

“Why are you here?” Wynonna finally asked, her tone deadpan. Even though she had asked it earlier, this time it was obvious she wanted the bare truth.

Jessie sighed.

“This is the only place I could think of.”

“Weren’t there other…ones? Besides me? Couldn’t you have gone with them?” Wynonna demanded.

“Sure, there were other women,” Jessie admitted, “…but I never married any of them.” Jessie craned her head up to fix a red-rimmed stare at Wynonna, upside down.

“Just you.”

“That was a long time ago,” Wynonna said in a strained voice.

“I know.”

“Things have changed.”

“I know,” Jessie whispered quietly.

There was a pause.

“Were there…others? Besides me?” Jessie murmured uncertainly.

Wynonna raised her eyebrows.

“Is that insecurity I’m hearing?” she chided. Jessie smiled grimly but seemed to maintain her stance on the question.

“Sure—no other women, but yeah, there were others…I mean, I had a baby,” Wynonna said slowly. Jessie nodded in understanding, the motion odd to witness as the walls seemed to sway from the edges of Wynonna’s vision.

“…but…” Wynonna murmured in a hoarse voice, “None were…like you.”

A grim yet shy smile touched Jessie’s lips.

“You know, Wynonna…no one was ever quite like you either.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WhAt's GoNnA HaPpEn?!


End file.
